Healing
by Fluffy Nabs
Summary: Shampoo goes off the deep and and drugs Ranma for nefarious purposes. Akane to the rescue, in more ways than one! One-shot. Trigger warning: attempted sexual assault.
1. Chapter 1

\- Obstacles -

"Yeah, I'm just gonna grab a bowl of ramen, real quick," Ranma said into his brand-new cell phone. Akane was on the other line.

"Sounds good, actually," she told him. "I'm about ten minutes away, maybe I'll join you."

"I'll tell Shampoo to make a bowl for you, then. The usual?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"Later," Ranma said, and took the phone away from his face. He tucked it into his front shirt pocket and entered the Nekohanten.

It was mostly dark inside, with light coming from the kitchen. There were no customers. "Hello?" he called.

A second later Shampoo poked her head around the door. "Airen!" she said, happy to see him. "You come see Shampoo?"

"I'm just hungry," he said. "That's all." _Don't call me that_ , he thought. "You still owe me."

Her smile melted off of her face and she gave him a curt nod. Indeed, she did owe him. After the failed wedding, Nabiki had threatened to call the police on those who had been responsible for causing the destruction of the dojo. After all, she had everything on video. She'd promised to keep it to herself in exchange for certain services. Free repairs and a year's worth of free food for any of the Tendos and Saotomes. "One special coming right up," she said.

A minute later a bowl of ramen appeared in front of him and Ranma inhaled it at his usual break-neck speed.

And then the room tilted sideways and he was on the floor. "What?" he asked, blinking in confusion. "Shampoo, what's happening?"

"You no worry," she said chipperly. She picked him up off of the floor and slung him over her shoulder fireman-style. "Was special raman."

"I feel like I'm gonna pass out!" he tried to shout, but it came out weak. He struggled ineffectually against her hold. "Put me down! Lemme go!"

"Okay," she agreed. She bounded up the stairs in the back of the restaurant and nudged open a door. Without much ceremony she dropped him onto a soft bed. "How Airen feel?"

"I feel funny," he admitted. "What the hell did you do to me?"

"Give you Vitality," she said. "Give you Truth. Give you Vulnerability." A wicked grin curved her lips upward and she knelt on the bed. Ranma's eyes followed the movement of her arm and he watched her pick up a pair of scissors. He reached with his hands to stop her but in his weakened state she easily pinned his arms over his head.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" he asked, panic in his voice.

"Undressing husband for bed," she answered in a sultry voice. The scissors flashed and suddenly Ranma was clad in nothing but his boxers, the scraps of his clothes laying under him.

"Stop it!" he screamed weakly. "Get off!" A feeling of dread settled into his stomach and he tried to struggle against her.

"How you feel?" she asked again, running a soft hand over his chest and down his abs.

Ranma involuntarily arched and shuddered under her touch. "Ung…" he groaned. "Good… that feels good. Stop! I don't want this!"

Her hand went lower. "Body say yes," she told him.

He shook his head. "No, NO! Get off of me! This isn't right! Stop!" He bucked and twisted under her, but she only rode him.

When he had spent his energy her lips firmed and she glared down at him. "You belong to me," she hissed. "You Shampoo's husband! Not right you deny me! Shampoo been patient too long. Time you learn who boss." Still pinning him down, she lifted her skirt and with a shock he realized she wasn't wearing a thing beneath it.

"Tell me truth, now," she purred and she humped him through his boxers. "Is Shampoo so sexy?"

"Yes," he said, feeling as though the word was ripped from him. "But I hate you!"

She stopped dead. "What?"

"What the hell? I didn't want to say that!"

"Truth serum," she said impatiently. "You no hate Shampoo. Ranma not know what saying."

"I DO hate you!" he countered, fire in his eyes. "You nearly killed Akane! Twice! I fucking hate your face and when I get my strength back I'm going to beat you to death!"

That took Shampoo aback and she gaped at him. Then, slowly, her mouth closed and she shook her head. "Just keep feeding you special ramen, then," she said. "Until you put baby in me. You no beat me, then. You no leave me, then. When I have baby in me, you love me, then." Her hand wormed between them, slipped under his boxers, started stroking him.

"Delusional bitch!" he howled. "I don't want you! Stop! Stop!"

She ignored him. He felt completely powerless. The drugs she'd used to roofie him kept him awake, but without strength, and hornier than he'd ever been. He was ashamed and scared and furious. "Please, stop!" he begged her. "Don't do this, please!"

And then the door burst open and Akane screamed, "I'll save you!" And no sooner was the last word out of her mouth than something hard flew into Shampoo's face and knocked her out cold. She toppled off the bed and cracked her head on a table on the way down, and down she stayed.

"Oh, my gods!" Akane cried, and rushed to Ranma's side. "Are you okay?"

"Get me out of here!" he said, hating the tears that coursed down his face, hating his vulnerability, hating that Akane was seeing him so helpless, but willing to lean on her now when he needed it. "Help me!" he said, and reached for her, struggling to get up.

She pulled him upright and had to catch him when he nearly slumped backward again. "Here, piggy-back style," she instructed, and with a few tugs managed to get him situated on her back with her arms wrapped under his legs. She ignored the hardness pressed into the small of her back and concentrated on getting out of the room, down the stairs, and to the door.

Just as she reached it, it opened and Mousse and Cologne came in. The all stopped, shocked, and stared at one another for a moment. "Care to explain?" Cologne asked.

"Shampoo just tried to rape Ranma," Akane growled. "She drugged him and was about to violate him when I came in and saved him." She took a menacing step toward them, toward the door. "Get the fuck out of Japan or so help me I will have you all thrown in jail," she hissed.

"Impossible," Cologne spat. "Shampoo would never do such an abominable thing."

Ranma piped up from her back. "It's true, gods help me. Look around, you'll see for yourself. And I-I will kill her," he said, his blue eyes blazing. "The next time I see her, she's dead, do you understand me? I will beat her until she stops breathing, this I vow on my honor as a martial artist."

"Not if I see her first," Akane snarled.

Cologne stepped back. Mousse was frozen in place, only shaking his head in denial. Akane just kept walking and went right through the door.

Once on the street, Akane adjusted her grip on her fiance and started sprinting home.

A couple of minutes went by, and Akane ignored the hot tears that dripped onto her shoulder. She ignored the increasingly hard pressure on her back. She focused all her energy on holding on to him, and getting them both home as quickly as possible.

Two minutes from the gate, Ranma groaned. "A-Akane, stop, please…"

"Almost home, Ranma," she panted, all out of breath.

"I can't hold on," he said, sounding desperate.

"It's okay," she assured him. "I've got you. I won't let you fall."

He groaned again and pressed his face to her shoulder. "Oh, gods."

She increased her pace, spurred on by his whimpers. She burst through the gate, flew through the door, and pelted up the stairs. There she paused, debating where to bring him.

"Akane," he whispered. His fingers clutched desperately at her shoulders. "A-Akane!"

"It's okay," she said. She hiked him a little higher and turned for her room, which was closer.

Against her back, Ranma shuddered violently, a rolling motion that sent her staggering. "Hold on!" she said, and slapped her door open.

"I'm… ugh… sorry," he said, sounding broken. He kept shuddering against her, his arms and legs tightening, his movements jerky.

Akane backed up to her bed and gently squatted until she was sure his bottom has on her mattress, and then she let go of his legs. "Are you okay?" she asked softly.

"Please… close the door," he begged.

She nodded and stood and walked the three steps to the door and closed it, and turned to see him.

He was red-faced and sweating, but so was she after running across half of Nerima with his weight on her back. He lay on his side, curled up, hands hidden. His blue eyes were open and tortured. "I'm so sorry," he said again.

Akane was at his side in an instant. "Sorry?" she asked. "There's nothing to be sorry for, Ranma! You haven't done anything wrong!" She reached for his shoulder, trying to be reassuring.

He flinched back from her and she stopped, stung to the quick by his recoil. She pulled her hand back. "Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean… did I scare you?"

He shook his head. "No, it wasn't that. Akane, wait. Wait. The drugs…"

"What did she do to you?" she asked, feeling the anger in her rising. "Did she…?"

"Almost, but not quite," he whispered. "She put something in the ramen. Three things, I… I think. Something that made me weak. Something that made me…" his face reddened, but the word came out anyway. "...horny. A-And something that makes me tell the truth."

Akane's face turned red, too, and she sat back. "Oh," she said. Then her eyes widened, flew to his hands, which were hidden behind his drawn-up legs, presumably cupping his… "OH!" She leaned back, "What are you _doing_?"

"Hiding the mess I made," he answered miserably. He hunched into himself even more. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I tried to stop it, but… you… with the movement, and… you're so warm and… you… smell… so...goodandohgods, I'm sorry!" He squeezed his eyes shut. "That's not the way it was supposed to happen!"

Akane was shocked. "The - the way it's supposed… to happen? What do you mean?"

"Supposed to be on our wedding night," he whispered. "Supposed to be special and, I dunno, like, tender and stuff. For both of us. Not this. Not full of shame and self-loathing and against my will."

For a full minute Akane just stared at him, red in the face and breathing hard. Then tears sprang into her eyes and she wiped them away furiously. "I'll be right back," she said gently. "Just stay here, okay?"

"Couldn't move even if I wanted to," he mumbled.

She was back a minute later with what he needed to clean up. Hot water, soft cloths, soap, and clean clothes. "Uh, here," she said, placing it on the floor by the bed. "Do you, um, need help?"

"I don't know," he admitted reluctantly. "I wanna try on my own. I'm not ready for you to… do anything."

"I'm not ready, either," she said. She turned her back to him resolutely.

"Akane?" he said softly. She heard him rustling around, trying to sit up.

"Yeah?"

"I… I can't sit up," he admitted.

"Oh," she said. "O-okay." Feeling as if her face would burst into flame from her blushes, she made herself stand up on shaking legs and oh-so-carefully put the cleaning things within his reach and climbed into the bed with him. Gently, she sat him up, and propped him against her own torso. "Can you move your arms?"

"Well enough," he ground out. "Please… don't look."

She hid her face against the back of his neck and closed her eyes. "I'm not looking."

There was a short pause, and she could sense his arms moving. "I'm sorry," he said again.

"You have nothing to feel sorry for," she said softly. "This wasn't your fault. None of this is your fault. I… I know you wouldn't have… you know. Not with me, the uncute tomboy with thick thighs."

"I like your thick thighs," he said, and they both froze.

"What?" she whispered.

"...I… think… you're sexy," he whispered back. "You're not cute, you're beautiful. Why do you think I… just, you know?"

"The drugged ramen?" she ventured.

He went back to cleaning up. "Yeah," he said. "That was part of it. But, since I've got this truth serum in me and I kind of have to be completely honest… you turn me on all the time. Many times a day, every single day. From the first time you walked in on me in the furo."

"Oh," Akane breathed. "Then… why are you always insulting me?"

"If you get mad maybe you won't notice my boner," he whispered. He hung his head in shame. "And you usually knock me into the next district, which covers things up, too." He shivered. "Since I have to be honest with you, will you be honest with me?"

She thought about that. It was scary. "I'm scared," she whispered.

"Me, too," he couldn't help but admit. "So, will you?"

"Yes," she breathed.

"Do you… I mean, what… how do you, you know, feel about me?"

Unbidden, her fingers dug into his ribs. "Um, what do you mean?"

"Do you… find me as sexy as I find you?" he asked, sounding vulnerable. "Do you even like me? Do you dream about being married to me, someday?"

She had to take a deep breath. Her heart was thundering in her chest. "I… I do," she admitted. She was so scared that she felt like she might pass out or throw up.

There was a really long pause in which both of them were totally still.

Then, Ranma broke the silence. "I can't get my boxers off," he told her. "I'm too weak. Damn that Shampoo!"

"Don't say her name!" Akane said instantly. "Don't." She pressed her forehead against his shoulder. "I'll help you, it's okay."

"I shouldn't need help," he said, his voice bitter. "I hate this."

"Ranma," she said, carefully shifting his weight until he was laying on his side. She kept her gaze on his face, and he met her eyes, shame in his own blue orbs. "Listen, okay? If… if we're going to be married, someday, then we're going to have to rely on one another. It can't be a one-way street." She took a deep breath. "Situations like this… are weird, and terrible, but… I'm here for you. Just like you would be here for me. Okay?"

He stared up at her, and the shame in his eyes slowly faded away. Wonder replaced it. "Okay," he said. "Thank you."

"Any time." Then she swallowed. "Um… what-what do you need me to-to do?"

The blush came back for both of them. "Just, ah, take of my-my b-b-b-boxers, please," he squeaked out. "And don't look! I'll do the rest!"

Akane kept her eyes on his face, reached down, fumbled a bit - he groaned and shivered - and found the waistband of his boxers. Resolutely, she pulled them down. Not looking was probably the hardest thing she'd ever done. Or if not _the_ hardest thing, one of them. She had to shift her weight to get them down over his feet. Then they were off, and Ranma was naked on her bed.

She leapt off of the bed, still holding his soiled boxers, and jumped clear across the room to her closet. She threw open the door and tossed them into her hamper. Then she shut the door again and leaned her face against it, panting.

She could smell him. Smell the evidence of his climax. It was earthy and somehow bitter and she didn't know if she liked it or not, but she didn't hate it, anyway.

She heard him rustling around on her bed, finally able to properly clean himself through great effort and a lot of grunting and gasping. Then a wet slap of a washcloth hitting the floor. "I can't!" he gritted out.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"I… I'm trying to… and I'm just… again…" he stopped. "The stupid ramen is still, um… affecting me."

Akane froze. A long silence stretched between them. "Oh," she finally managed. "What… should we do?" At the word _we_ , it felt like ice water flooded her veins. "I mean - I-I-I-I, no! Not me! I'm not suggesting-!"

A weakened, resigned laugh issued from behind her, from Ranma, naked and aroused on her bed. "No, of course not," he said. "We're not ready."

"We're not ready," she agreed.

"Just… gimme a few minutes. Sometimes I can, you know… think it away."

And he closed his eyes and tried to imagine all the grossest things he could to make it go away. Happosai groping him, Cologne in a bikini, his parents getting romantic, Kuno professing his love… but none of it worked. His erection withstood all of that because no matter what, he was in Akane's bed, surrounded by her scent, tormented with the recent memory of rubbing to orgasm against her warm, strong, sweaty back, of her soft breasts pressed against him... "Damn," he cursed.

"What?" asked Akane, still clear across the room with her face pressed against the closet.

"It won't go away," he said.

"What do we do?"

"I don't know. It's starting to hurt."

"It _hurts_?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah," he grunted. He placed a hand on it, couldn't stop the way his hips flexed upward, nor the soft gasp that escaped his lips. "I think… I need to…"

"Oh, my gods," Akane said. "I'm so embarrassed right now."

"Me, too!" he said. "You can… go, if you want."

"I can't just leave you," she said, turning her head just a little bit so that he could see her profile. "What if something worse happens? We don't know if you're safe from the ramen. I might need to call 911, or something."

He bit his lip. "I've gotta… do it," he panted. "Please. It hurts, just let me… you don't have to stay. You don't have to."

"...I'm staying. As mortifying as this is for both of us, I can't leave you alone right now."

"Okay," he finally groaned, and started stroking. He breathed her scent, he watched her standing there. He focused on the soft curve of her cheek, of the pink lips he longed to kiss. He let his eyes roam down the column of her neck, tantalizingly exposed by her short haircut. Her back narrowed into a tiny waist and flared out again to womanly hips and strong legs. She was wearing shorts. The curve of her ass became a fascinating thing. He imagined what it would feel like to cup her ass in his hands, to squeeze and knead the flesh, and press himself against it. "Oh, gods," he moaned. His eyes closed in pleasure, he lost himself to the feeling.

With just a bit of alarm, Akane peeked over her shoulder at him. She froze.

The wire of tension in her pulled so tight it sent a physical pain through her core, made her knees shake. Ranma, in all his physical glory, was naked on her bed, one hand wrapped around his cock, the other splayed across his stomach, stroking slowly. He was coated in a fine sheen of sweat, his head was thrown back in bliss, the column of his throat exposed.

She couldn't take her eyes off of him. She'd promised not to look, but when he'd made that animal noise, she'd thought him in pain but - but no. She realized too late it hadn't been a noise of suffering, but of ecstacy.

The sight of him was overwhelming. Her breasts tightened into sensitive mounds, an incredible tingling suffused her private parts, and a warm wetness flooded from her panties. For a panicked second she thought she'd peed herself, until she realized what had happened. "Oh," she breathed.

Ranma's eyes snapped open and met hers. His hand stuttered, slowed, but didn't stop. "You… looked…" he panted.

"Sorry, I thought you were in pain." She couldn't turn away.

She didn't realize the picture she presented now, like something from a fantasy. She had half-turned her torso, giving him a great profile view of her breasts, of the nipples straining against the fabric. Her lower half was still mostly facing away from him, showing off that ass, and when he looked down he saw the wetness slowly spreading, darkening the fabric of her shorts. He knew what it was. "You like what you see," he said, more of a statement that a question.

She didn't answer but she didn't have to. He knew. She knew that he knew. His hand moved faster and her eyes were drawn to the motion. He watched her watching him. Watched her pink lips open, watched her lick them, watched her pant. Watched a bead of sweat slide sensuously down her flushed cheek. Watched her take a deep breath -

He came. It hit him as hard as the first one had, and he bowed up from the bed, thrusting into his hand in shuddering spasms that rocked her bed. His seed landed in long strings across his stomach. He never took his eyes off of her.

She whimpered when she saw it happening. Panted and shifted, uncomfortably aroused, not knowing what she could do, or should do, stuck between terror and excitement and mortification and wonder and something deeper than all these, something profoundly felt for the man on her bed.

Finally, Ranma collapsed, utterly spent and limp as a noodle. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Ever so slowly, Akane turned around, pulled as if by an invisible force to the bed. She slowly knelt. "It's okay, " she said. She swallowed. "What do you need right now?"

"I need to clean up and put on clothes and then drown myself," he replied. "Gods, I'm _so_ embarrassed!"

Akane bit her lips and met his eyes. "There's… no reason… to be embarrassed," she whispered.

"What?"

"It was…" she breathed in slowly, trying to calm the butterflies. "...sexy. So… sexy." She pressed her hands against her stomach. "I don't know… I've never… felt like… I'm…" she couldn't finish, wasn't even sure how to express herself.

"Me, neither," he said. "Not… like this. I mean, I have but… always alone."

"You've done this before?" she asked wonderingly. Her eyes flicked down to the mess on his stomach, to the still-hard member twitching on his hip. "Oh, my!"

He blinked at her, and then shyly nodded. "You haven't?"

"How could I?" she asked, red-faced again. "I'm not -" she gestured. "I don't have one of those. I _AM_ a girl, you know!"

"I know," he said, his voice thick and low. "It's always you I think about."

"Pervert," she said without conviction.

"You're the one who watched," he countered. "And liked it."

She couldn't deny it. How could she, when her wetness was slowly trailing down her thigh? "I'm sorry I looked," she said again. "But you made this noise, and I thought you were hurt…"

Slowly, his hand - not the one he'd touched himself with - drifted toward her. She watched it, unable to react. He touched her shoulder and it was like being touched by lightning. "It's okay. I… I'm glad you saw." His eyes drifted over her. "You've really never touched yourself?"

She shook her head, making fists on her thighs that she pressed mercilessly into the muscles there.

"Why not?" he asked curiously. His fingers tightened just a bit.

"Good girls don't do that," she whispered. "Not until marriage."

He paused for a long time, thinking about that. "Hand me a washcloth, please?"

She snatched it off the ground and put it in the still-warm water, and he took it and cleaned off his stomach, being careful to avoid his hard on. It twitched and lifted, seeming eager to go again. Akane couldn't help but look at it. "That thing is huge," she blurted. "It'll never fit inside me!"

Ranma closed his eyes and let his head sink into the pillow. "Oh, gods, you're going to kill me," he groaned.

"What?" she asked.

"It'll fit," he promised. "Some day. On our wedding night. And… it'll be…" he swallowed. "So, so good. So good, I promise. Sweet, and… fulfilling, and…" he was breathing hard again, caught in the fantasy.

Akane shifted, rubbed her thighs together. "Ranma, I don't know what to do."

That pulled him out of his imagination and he looked at her. "You could, um, you know…"

She stared at him.

"...touch yourself."

The both exhaled, and Akane panted, thinking about it. "I don't know how," she whined. "I… I'm so embarrassed!"

Ranma's hands started drifting down his abs, and he licked his lips. "Take off your shorts," he said.

"What?!"

"They'll just get in the way."

She sat there, red-faced and shaking. "I can't," she said.

"Why?" he sounded frustrated. "I know you want to. It's okay. I'm your fiance, it's okay to do this with me. I just did it with you. Twice."

"But… we've never even kissed!" She swallowed. "Not… not really."

Silently, Ranma held out his hand. Very slowly, Akane took it, and Ranma tugged her toward him. He was still weak, there was hardly any strength in his arms, but Akane wasn't resisting. She leaned forward and he tilted his face toward her. "I want to kiss you," he whispered. "Do you want to kiss me?"

She felt the puff of air against her lips and shivered. "Yes," she admitted.

And then their lips were touching and slipping over each other. Ranma's hand slid up her arm and buried itself in her hair. The kiss was sweet and slow until it wasn't any more, and then it was open mouthed, hot tongues colliding, noses getting in the way. They were learning how to do it right and it was glorious.

Finally Akane broke the kiss and leaned back a little bit. "Ranma," she moaned. The sound of his name on her lips made him shiver. "I need… I need… something! What do I _do_?"

"Take… off… your… shorts…" he told her, kissing her after ever word.

Akane shoved them down over her hips, pushed them past her ankles, nearly fell over in her hast.

"And your shirt?" he suggested.

A little more slowly, Akane took her shirt off, too. "Now what?" she asked, clad only in her bra and panties. They weren't a particularly sexy pair, being more along the lines of functional and plain, but Ranma didn't care. He'd never seen anything sexier in his life.

"Your hands," he said. "Touch yourself."

Her fingers splayed over the tops of her thighs and she rubbed them up and down.

"Not like a massage," he said. "Gently. Lightly, like this." He demonstrated on his own chest, running just his fingertips across his heated skin.

Hesitantly, Akane mimicked his movements, gliding across the swell of her breasts, over her bra. Her eyes drifted half-closed.

"Do you like that?" he asked, his voice rough.

She nodded and kept doing it. Unconsciously, she rubbed her thighs together and shifted her hips, her body seeking the release that she didn't know how to give.

Ranma wrapped his hands around his own cock again and slowly started pumping. "Touch your nipples," he directed. And when she did she whimpered and threw her head back. If he hadn't just come twice already he'd have finished on that alone. "Pinch them," he said. "Does it feel good?"

She pinched them and jumped. "No," she panted.

"Just gently. Everything should be gentle."

She tried again, and this time a gasp escaped her lips. She started experimenting with that, twisting and rolling them. "Yes," she said. "Gods, yes! Yes!"

"Someday, I'm going to do that to you," Ranma promised, his eyes locked on her hands pinching her breasts through the fabric of her bra. "Do you want me to?"

"Yeeeeessssss…" Akane panted.

"T-touch yourself in other places." He took a deep breath. "Under your panties."

She lifted her head again and looked at him, chocolate eyes meeting cobalt blue. She seemed to be searching for something.

"It's okay," he assured her.

"Do you love me?" she asked.

The truth serum was still working. "Yes," he said. He couldn't stop himself. He wasn't even sure he wanted to, any more. "I love you, Akane." And then it was his turn to search her eyes. "Do you… love me?"

"Yes!" she said. "I really do!" She leaned forward and kissed him again and this time he couldn't keep his hands off of her and he was touching her, cupping her breasts over her bra and then sliding his hands beneath the fabric, filling his palms and fingers with them. "Ah!" she cried, and pushed herself into the touch.

"Touch yourself," he commanded, his voice rough. "Put your hands inside your… panties… gods, Akane!"

She had obeyed him. "What do I… oh…. Do?" she asked.

"Find the… it's near the top… open yourself…" he couldn't talk for all his heavy breathing. His eyes were glued to his fingers on her nipples, focused on copying her earlier movements.

"What do I do?" she asked, frantic and whimpering.

"Open your folds," he said, and he leaned forward to lick a nipple. "Near the top, it's a little bud, a pearl… find it and…"

"Ohhhhh!" she cried, and he knew she'd found it. He looked down, saw her hands in her panties. His cock throbbed insistently, but he was still so weak, it was all he could do to grab her glorious tits and hang on for dear life. "Rub it," he said. "Just keep… rubbing it…" He stuffed a plump pink nipple into his mouth and sucked and licked and flicked it with his tongue, and mimicked his movements on her other breast with his hand. He reached down to grab himself, moved his fist up and down his shaft.

He looked up at her face. Her eyes were closed, she was pink-cheeked, sweaty and amazing. He could hear squishy sounds coming from her panties, could see the frantic movement of her fingers. "Gods, you're beautiful," he breathed. "I love you so much, Akane!"

She bit her lip, her body shook, and then she was there, coming with her hands in her panties and Ranma's mouth on her breast, and she was so close and she smelled so good and it was sweet and glorious and he came, too, making another mess on his stomach. Slowly, she bowed forward until she could rest her head on the mattress, facing him. "I love you too, Ranma," she said.

He could finally feel his shaft softening. His heart welled up and the emotion spilled from his eyes.

Instantly, she was sitting up and her face was close to his, her hands cupping his cheeks. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked. "I'm sorry, please, what's the matter?"

"Nothing," he said, and his arm came up to embrace her. "I'm just… happy."

Her face softened. "Is the truth serum still working?"

"Yeah," he said roughly.

"Did I… do anything you didn't like?" she asked shyly.

He shook his head. "You're perfect."

Now it was her turn to cry a little. "This went from scary to embarrassing to sexy to profound. I'm exhausted."

He laughed a little bit. "Me, too. Don't think I'm unmanly for crying."

"Gods," she said, flicking a gaze down his body. "How can I possibly ever think that ever again?"

"Oh, yeah?" he asked, smugness edging its way into his voice.

She turned to the pile of his clothes and grabbed a clean pair of boxers and a tank top. "Clean up," she said. "I'll help you put these on." They managed to get that done without too much fuss, and then Akane disappeared into the bathroom for a few minutes. When she came back she was clad in her pajamas. "I'm coming in," she warned him. Then she carefully clambered over him and squeezed in between his body and the wall.

"Small bed," he muttered.

"Good for cuddling," she murmured back. "Are you okay?"

He was silent for a while. "You saved me," he said. "And while it… kinda stings my pride, you know, you're totally right. If we're gonna get married someday, we need to depend on one another. Just, you know… you're the only girl who's allowed to save me."

She grinned at him. "That's right, mister!"

He kept looking at her. "You're the only girl who's allowed to see me cry."

She sobered a bit. "And I don't want to cry on anyone's shoulder but yours."

"You're the only girl who's allowed to touch me."

She slowly slipped an arm around his ribs. "You're the only man who's allowed to touch _me_ ," she said.

"Damn straight!" He settled a hand atop hers. "Let's get some sleep. Tomorrow I have an Amazon to murder."

Akane stiffened. "Maybe we should go to the police," she said. "They could take a drug test, and get proof. She'll go to jail."

"No, they'd just deport her," he said. "And then she'd be back again." He turned to look at her. "You know I'm right."

Slowly, she nodded.

"She has to die." His eyes searched her gaze. "Will you hate me?"

"I think you'll hate yourself enough," she whispered, and tears welled up again. "Ranma, please don't. Don't kill her."

"If I don't kill her, it's only a matter of time before she kills you. She's ruthless, Akane. I can see that, now." His grip tightened. "And I won't let anything happen to you. Ever." His fingers pressed hard into her hand. "I've killed for you before. I didn't like it, but I'll do it again if that's what it takes."

She wrapped him in her arms and they cried together, and exhausted, fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

Cologne waited on the roof over Akane's room for some time, thinking about everything she'd overheard. After they'd left, she'd found Shampoo out cold, had Mousse tend to her, and investigated the cold, empty bowl that had held the ramen. She'd found, much to her disgust and horror, that it had, indeed, been drugged.

Rape was anathema to the Amazons. It was, aside from murder, just about the most heinous crime an Amazon could commit. Further proof had only been thrown in her face with what she'd overheard at the Tendo house. Ranma's resolution to kill her granddaughter was… righteous.

But Cologne blamed herself. It was her fault that Shampoo had become like this, had resorted to… this. Tears ran down her withered, ancient face and she silently cried, knowing that she'd lost, and that there was really only one thing to do. They had to run, and run far, and Shampoo could never, ever be trusted again. Once she was sure that Ranma and Akane slept deeply, she left the house, never to return.

In the morning, when Ranma and Akane showed up at the Nekohanten, it was empty and closed up tight. He broke in, anyway, Akane following, and found that it was devoid of personal belongings. Hardly any clothes, no toothbrushes or personal care items, no books or scrolls left behind.

But there was a note, penned in Cologne's spidery handwriting.

Ranma,

You have been wronged. Shampoo will be punished. You will never see or hear from us again. May you heal and live a long and happy life.

Cologne

He showed Akane the note and she read it. "You think it's real?" she asked.

"It had better be," he said. "Let's go."

They left, and two weeks later another restaurant was operating there, a Thai food place that served top-notch pho. They never did learn what happened to Shampoo, and for the rest of their lives, they never saw another Amazon.

\- Healing -

A week later, Ranma and Akane had settled into a new and exciting routine. They were seniors in high school and graduation was just around the corner. They woke up, jogged together - Ranma refused to let her go alone, any more - went to school, and came home to train. Ranma started taking Akane's training very seriously, and so did she.

"If they ever come back, we need to be ready," he said. "We've gotta get you up to speed. I'm not gonna give up until you can give me a run for my money."

"Finally," she huffed. "I've been trying to get you to take me seriously for years!"

He looked down, a bit ashamed. "Yeah," he said. "Sorry about that. I was… just… I liked the idea of you depending on me, I guess. I liked being the hero." His face turned red and he squeezed his eyes shut. "A lot of good that did me."

"It's okay," Akane said, and put her arms around him. "Live and learn… let's just move on from here and grow together, okay?"

He wrapped her in his arms, too. "Yes," he sighed into her hair. "Together."

After training every day and then cleaning up and eating dinner with the family they went to bed. Together.

The first night, no one even realized that they'd spent the night in Akane's room. The second night, Ranma simply picked up his things and moved them in.

Nabiki was already in college, so she wasn't there to blackmail them. Kasumi was already in her room with the light off. Ranma's father sat up on his futon. "Where are you going, boy?" he asked.

"None of your business, old man," Ranma said rudely. He kicked a weight at his pops, nailed him in the face with it, and left with Genma unconscious on the floor.

Soun was in the bathroom brushing his teeth when Ranma walked by with his stuff. He gaped and spoke around a mouthful of foam. "Huh?"

Ranma made eye contact with him and knocked on Akane's door. She opened it, saw her dad, pulled Ranma inside, and shut the door in her dad's face.

And that was that.

Everyone just quietly accepted it and went on with their lives. Kasumi did, at one point, pull Akane aside and quietly explain the facts of life. She also gave her a box of condoms and some money. "To buy more when you need them," she explained. "Do you want me to take you to a clinic and go on birth control?" she asked kindly.

Akane was beet-red, and shook her head. "No, sis, thanks. We're not… you know. Doing _that_. We're waiting until… you know. Ourweddingnight." And it was true. Though makeout sessions had been long and heated, since that first night, they'd kept their clothes on and slept seperately in the same room.

Kasumi giggled. "Alright. Well, whatever you choose, we all support you. Just be careful not to put yourself in a delicate way until you're ready for that."

Akane nodded vigorously and went to hide the condoms in her room.

And then there was Ukyo.

At school a few days after the assault, Ranma reached out to take Akane's hand as they walked down the hallway. Blushing, she twined her fingers with his and bumped her shoulder into him gently. The grinned at one another.

A gasp made them look up. Ukyo was staring at their clasped hands. Akana almost ripped her hand out of Ranma's but he tightened his grip and kept his hold.

"Ran-chan?" Ukyo asked, stepping forward. Her eyes slid to Akane and she narrowed them viciously. "Let go of his hand, hussy! He doesn't want to hold hands with an uncute deadly cook like you!"

Akane stiffened, but Ranma tugged her closer and stepped a little in front of her. "You're wrong, Ukyo. I want to hold her hand. I want to hold it _forever_!" The students in the hallway around them gasped collectively. "She's my fiance - my first and _only_ fiance. If you want to remain my friend at all, you'll accept that and be happy for us. If you can't do that, then I never want to see you again. I'm sorry it has to be this way, but…" he paused, and looked at Akane, and smiled. "I love Akane."

"Ranma!" Akane said softly.

Ukyo choked back a sob and clobbered Ranma with her spatula, and then leapt over the crowd and disappeared.

Akane crouched next to her injured fiance. "Are you okay?" she asked. Ranma slowly picked himself up. "Yeah," he said, rubbing the growing lump on the back of his head. "Had to do it. I"m about done with all this nonsense with people chasing after me when I don't _want them to."_ He was breathing heavily. Akana suddenly realized that they still had an audience.

She gave them her fiercest look. "Get lost!" she shouted. "Nothing to see!" Everyone scattered, too afraid to risk her wrath. She stood and pulled Ranma with her and they found an empty classroom.

They walked to a corner that couldn't be seen through the window in the door and sat, Ranma in a desk, Akane on his lap where he pulled her down. She blushed. "Ranma!"

"What?" he asked, slowly stroking her thigh. "You don't like it?"

"I… do…" she admitted. "But, um… we're at school."

"Fuck everyone else," he said. "We're both passing. We can skip half a period, can't we?"

"Hm," she sighed, and leaned her head against his. This served the benefit of nestling his face against her chest, and he grinned happily. She could feel his cheek bunching up with the smile. She ran a finger along the shell of his ear. "Poor Ukyo."

His hand stopped inching up her thigh. "Yeah. I feel bad for her, but… I had to tell her the truth."

"The truth serum wore off days ago."

"I know."

They both sighed, and his hand started inching higher again. He stopped about half-way up, still in a relatively safe zone. They'd agreed to certain boundaries, and were sticking to them, so far. Akane spoke. "As long as we're getting rid of fiances… and other romantic interests… who's next?"

"The Kunos," Ranma said. "And Gosunkugi. And Ryoga."

"Ryoga?" Akane asked, baffled. "What are you talking about?"

"He's totally into you," Ranma said without hesitating. "Has been for years. But lately he's been diggin' Akari, too, so there's that."

"He is not into me," she scoffed.

He looked up at her. She stared down at him. "Believe me," he said. "He likes you."

"Oh." She blinked a couple of times. "Poor guy. He never had a chance, you know. No one but you ever did." She leaned in and kissed him on the lips, and for several long minutes they made out. Finally, though, when she started slowly wiggling atop his arousal, Ranma stopped her.

"There's something that I… need to tell you," Ranma said slowly.

Akane blinked slowly at him. "Mm?"

"It's important, so listen up."

"Oh, okay," she sighed, slightly irritated that she'd had to stop, but respecting his choice. "What is it?"

"I've been keeping someone's secret for a long time, now. It's… it was a matter of honor. I swore on my honor as a martial artist that I wouldn't tell anyone, because what happened to them was kind of my fault, sort of. I felt guilty when I made that promise."

"Um… okay…" Akane said slowly. "And you still can't tell me?"

"I… no, I'm gonna tell you," he said finally. "I've just realized that, you know, _your_ honor is more important to me than _mine_."

"Oh, Ranma!" Akane said, touched and utterly mystified. "What does my honor have to do with it?"

"You're gonna hate me for not tellin' you sooner. That's why I'm tryin' to explain why. But you have every right to hate me. It's just… he took advantage of my promise… to take advantage of your kindness."

Akane slowly stiffened. "Who? What are you talking about? Tell me!"

"Ryoga… is cursed," he said.

Dread swept through her. "Cursed? What does he turn into?"

"A, uh… a small… black… pig." He swallowed audibly, and shrank, visibly anticipating violence.

But Akane was frozen. "But… I… I slept in the same bed with him," she said. "I changed clothes with him in the room. I - oh! I snuggled him against my chest!" She suddenly stood up from the desk and spun around to glare at him. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"

Ranma slid from the desk and prostrated himself on the floor at her feet. "I'm sorry!" he cried. "Please don't kill me!"

"Kill _you_?" she scoffed. "I'm gonna kill _Ryoga_ is who I'm gonna kill! When I get my hands on him he's gonna regret the day he was born! OH!" she screamed, and demolished a desk.

Ranma cautiously peeked up. "You're not gonna pound me?"

She crossed her arms. "I'm angry," she said. "You should have told me. You're gonna have a lot of grovelling to do for a while before I forgive you."

"But… you will forgive me?"

"Yes. Eventually. I understand why you felt the way you did, honor is important… but…"

"I'm sorry," Ranma said. "I know. At first, my own honor meant everything… but now… well…" his face turned red, but he met her eyes. "Now you mean everything. I'm so sorry."

"Oh, get up," she said, irritated. "You better not insult me again. Ever. That's your penance. No more name-calling."

Ranma blinked. "What. That's it? I don't know if you've noticed, but I haven't called you any names since… you know." His face turned more red.

Akane's did, too. "That's true," she said. "Just… keep it up. And throw in a compliment every once in a while. Basically just suck up in general."

Ranma stood up and reached for her hands, holding them in his. "Akane," he said seriously. "You are the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on."

Her lips twitched at the corners but she didn't smile yet. Ranma started to pull her closer.

"You're strong and smart, and you're kind. And I can't wait to be your husband."

"And I'm a good martial artist," she said, stepping up to him.

"You're a great martial artist," he said. "Getting better every day. Someday you're going to kick my ass in a fair fight."

"That's right," she said, and raised up on her tiptoes. He lowered his head to hers and they kissed.

"Awwwwww!" came a chorus of feminine voices from the door.

Ranma and Akane sprang apart from each other, beet-red. "What are you doing?" hissed Akane, leveling her friends with a deadly glare.

"Um, going to class?" Sayuri said. "There's about 30 people behind us."

"Yeah," Yuka said. "What did you expect? This is a school, after all." They started coming in through the door, and the boys gave them wolf whistles and knowing looks.

"I can't wait to graduate," Akane sighed. Ranma could only nod.

That night when they went home, Ukyo was waiting for them. Just standing there at the gate, wearing her normal clothes. She was without a spatula of any kind on her - not the big battle spatula, nor the small throwing ones.

They came to a stop on the street. "Ukyo," said Ranma.

The silence stretched between them for a while, until Ukyo stepped forward. "I wanted to be your friend," she told Ranma. "But I don't really think that's on the table." She glanced at Akane. "I don't understand why he chose you over me. But…" she gritted her teeth. "He did. I guess I accept that." She inhaled a bit. "Ranma, my honor won't be satisfied until you pay back what you took from me."

"I didn't take anything from you," he protested. "That was my pops, you know that."

"Whatever," Ukyo said.

She might have said more but Akane cut her off. "What about what _you_ took from _me_?" she asked.

Ukyo blinked at her. "What?"

Akane gestured to the still-damaged dojo. "That," she said. "You brought _bombs_ to my _wedding_. You destroyed the dojo and goodly portion of my _house_. And you still haven't paid your share of the repairs, or hardly any of the food you owe us. How dare you come here complaining about an okonomiyaki cart when you helped to demolish my home?"

Ukyo stepped back. "I… what?"

Akane walked forward. "I think if we compared things, you'd find that you actually owe us, not the other way around. Your revenge has been had. You said you can't be friends with Ranma… so what are you still here for? Get out of here! Go back to Ucchan's. Or better yet, go back to your father - how long have you been away from him?"

Tears welled up in Ukyo's eyes. "You are such a bitch," she said to Akane.

And then Ranma was there between them. "Stop it," he told Ukyo. "You don't get to talk to her that way. She's right. You… you should leave." He seemed sad, but determined. "I'm sorry things ended this way."

Ukyo tried to slap him, but this time it was Akane's turn to step in, and she caught the chef's hand in an iron grip. There was iron in her eyes as well. "Touch him again and suffer the consequences," she said in a low, scary voice. "I'll show you just how much of a bitch I can be."

Ukyo stared at her, completely flabbergasted. Then she backed up a step, and Akane let her go. She backed up another step, and turned and ran.

The two of them went in, and they were quiet at dinner, thinking about today's events. Then everyone went their separate ways, to relax or clean or smoke a pipe. Akane and Ranma went upstairs to their room. Someone had painted "& Ranma" on the duck on her door, and seeing it made her smile.

When they entered she closed to door behind her and then crossed to her bed while Ranma hovered, uncertain of where to go. She sat, and looked at him.

Despite what their fathers probably hoped, they hadn't shared a bed since that night. Ranma slept on a bed roll on the floor, and they talked, and slept. Just slept. Not that she hadn't thought about it. She thought about it all the time. Sometimes she thought about it when she should be thinking about just about anything else, but…

They'd kissed. A lot. Makeout sessions like today's were par for the course before bedtime, but they'd never gone farther than that. And Akane hadn't wanted to rush him. The circumstances of that night had been somewhat extraordinary, even for them. He'd survived a sexual assault attempt and then immediately gotten incredibly intimate with her. She didn't want to push him, didn't want to go too fast. She wanted him to have the time to process all of that and figure out how he felt about it all. It had been a week.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him.

"Fine," he said. "I mean…" he sighed, and finally plopped down next to her on the bed. "Kind of bummed about Ukyo. She was… my friend."

Akane's hand found his and she squeezed consolingly. "I know. I'm sorry that it happened that way. It's too bad. Maybe she'll come around."

He shrugged. "I dunno… I'm not even sure if I want her to. She's not the same little kid I remember, and she hasn't been for a long time."

Akane leaned her head on his shoulder. "What can I do to help you?"

"Just… can we… I mean…" he coughed slightly and his face turned red. "Can I just lay down with you?"

"Yeah," she said almost instantly. They arranged themselves on the bed, clothes on, and she was the little spoon in their cuddle arrangement. "Like this?"

"Yeah," he sighed happily. He buried his face in her hair and liked that it tickled. "You smell so good."

"Thanks," she said.

"Strawberry shampoo," he sighed. Then he tensed.

Akane froze. They were quiet for a long time, and then finally Akane dared to look behind at him. "Are you okay?" she asked. "You can talk about it with me, you know."

His dark blue eyes met hers and she could practically see his internal struggle. "Yeah," he said, nodding slowly.

She turned herself around completely and they interlaced their legs. He rested a hand on her hip and let his fingers draw aimless designs there. "I hate what she did to me," he said. "This past week, I… I've had bad dreams."

"I know," Akane said softly.

"And then I've had… you know… _those_ dreams, too. Of-of what we did." He started breathing faster. "I can't get it out of my mind."

"Neither can I," Akane told him, all in a rush, blushing like the maid she was.

"But… it's like… that whole amazing thing with you only happened because that whole disgusting thing with her. So in my mind… my dreams, you know… it's all tangled up and confusing and I don't even know what to feel."

Akane lowered her eyes and nodded. "That's why I haven't really made any moves," she admitted. "I wanted to let you figure things out."

"Yeah," he said. "Thanks. You're sweet, you know."

She looked up and he was smiling at him, and she smiled back. "Way to sneak in a compliment, man."

He reached up and took a strand of her hair in his fingers, tested the softness of it, and then tenderly tucked it behind her ear. "Glad you noticed."

"I… always notice you," she said softly. "Since day one."

His breath caught. "Well… it's hard not to notice me. I _am_ awesome."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she grumped. Then she laughed a little and conceded, "Okay, so you're pretty awesome. I admit it."

His fingers traced her ear, made a tingling path down her cheek, and stopped at her lips. "I never want to think about any woman but you ever again. I just… wish that… you could, like, wash it away, or something." He shook his head. "Yeah, that sounds weird. Can you please wash my brain, Akane?" He rolled his eyes.

"I can try," she said. "Maybe I can't wash it… you know, brainwash you… but I can give you lots of stuff to think about besides her, instead." Her voice was a breathy whisper. "If you want. I don't wanna push you. It should be your choice."

" _Our_ choice," he said. "You and me, together, choosing to… to love one another."

Love welled in her heart so much that for a moment she couldn't breathe. "I choose you," she told him.

Suddenly he rolled on top of her. "I choose you," he said back, and then leaned down to kiss her.

She met him eagerly, opened her mouth to his tongue, twined her arms around his neck. She could feel the twining tension in her belly, low and heated. It languorously spread lower, between her legs, and made her muscles feel heavy, and tremble. He broke from her lips and kissed his way down her jaw to a spot on her neck just below her ear. He lavished it with attention while she hummed approvingly and ran her hands over his shoulders. He was hard, and pressed against her thigh again and again. She met his rocking movement with her own, and spread her legs.

"I want to see you," he whispered into her ear. It sent shivers up and down her spine, and suddenly she was shy again.

"Oh… okay," she said. He sat up and pulled her with him, and she put her fingers to the bottons of her blouse. Blushing, she asked, "Can I, um, see you, too?"

His shirt was off before she could blink. She took a minute to really just admire his body. "You're so handsome," she sighed. Slowly watching his eyes riveted on her fingers, she unbuttoned her blouse. It slid off her shoulders and down her arms, and then she took a deep breath, filling in her bra. His eyes almost popped out of his head. "Gorgeous," he murmured.

His hands came up, but before he could touch her she said, 'Wait." She unfastened her bra and cast it aside, and then smiled at him. "Now."

"Yeah," he sighed, filling his hands with her breasts. He gently squeezed and kneaded them. "So sexy..." When his fingers started to gently pinch and twist her nipples she arched into it.

Her own hands came to to clasp his, then flew to his shoulders, running across their breadth, squeezing the muscles. She couldn't contain the sound of pleasure that ripped from her throat. "Like that, yes… please…" she moaned.

He continued for a few minutes, intent on the pleasure he was giving her. Her hands restlessly traversed across his shoulders, up and down his arms, over his chest and abs. At one point she tweaked his nipples, too, sending a shudder through him.

"Did you like that?" she asked.

"I like everything you do," he replied huskily.

"Doesn't give me much to go on," she said. "Tell me what you want." She pressed closer to him. "I want to give you what you want."

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, hard and hot. "I want to fuck you," he growled against her mouth.

Akane froze, her eyes big as saucers. "Wh-what?" she asked.

Ranma swallowed and pulled back slowly. "I mean... " he was breathing heavily. "I know we said we'd wait 'til we were married, and all. But you asked what I wanted and…" he closed his eyes. "I wanna be with you as close as two people can be."

Akane thought about it for a moment, just a moment, but it was long enough for Ranma to curse under his breath and pull back. "I'm sorry," he said.

"No, it's okay," she said, putting her hands on his. "I want us to be honest. You were honest. And if I'm being honest, I… want that too. So much. But…" she swallowed.

"But… what?"

"I'm kind of scared. I… uh, remember how you looked. Your… thing." She fidgeted. "And what about our wedding night? Shouldn't we wait for that? Keep that for last, to make it, you know, special?"

Ranma took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You're right, we should wait," he said. His shoulders drooped, and he flopped back onto the bed, arms spread out.

Akane sighed and looked at him lying there. Her hand rose almost of its own accord and started to caress his abs. "What if I did something else?" she asked.

"Even if we can't do _that_ ," Ranma said, "I am 100% okay with literally anything else you can come up with. I'm yours."

"Would you, um, stand up for a minute?" she asked, suddenly feeling shy for what she was about to do.

Ranma slowly stood, giving her a puzzled look all the while. "Sure," he said. "What's up?"

Akane stood, too, and kissed him, then slowly started kissing her way down his body. She catalogued every sigh he made, every shiver, every little moan. When she went down on her knees before him, she heard the breath he gasped. "What are you doing?" he asked. His hands, trembling, lay on her shoulders.

"I wanna make you feel good," she said, looking up at him. She met his eyes with her gaze and held it as she undid the drawstring of his pants and slid them down his legs. Then she tugged his boxers down, and got a good, long look at his manhood.

It jutted proudly out from a nest of dark, curling hair, curving every so slightly upward. She could see the veins on its surface. It twitched as he breathed. She wrapped a hand around it and he cried out and jerked forward. "I'm gonna die," he sighed as he buried his hands in her hair. He moved his fingers across her scalp, massaging her head while she stroked him.

"No, don't die!" she laughed. "Is this good?"

"Oh, yeah," he moaned. "Uh… a little faster, maybe?" She increased the pace and for a few minutes concentrated on that, and on the blissful head massage she was getting. Sometimes he would direct her. "Squeeze harder," he'd moan. "Slow for a minute… I don't wanna come."

And, it being so close to her face for so long, and seeing how absolutely under her power she had him, Akane finally got up the courage to do what she'd been thinking of the whole time. She stuck out her tongue and licked him.

Ranma's hips bucked wildy. "Gods!" he yelled. "What… what? What was that?"

"Did I do it wrong?" she asked, worried.

"Wrong? Oh, my gods, how could that possibly be wrong? That was the best thing that's ever happened to me in my life!"

A slow smile spread across her face, and she did it again, lathing her tongue across the head of his member. His hips started thrusting toward her, and Akane opened wide and let him into her mouth. Instinctively she knew to keep her teeth away from him. He bucked against her tongue, groaning uncontrollably. "I'm gonna come," he moaned.

Akane hummed an acknowledgement, and the added vibrations made him lose his mind entirely. He came in her mouth, shooting his salty bitter seed onto her tongue, holding her head close to him.

She was glad she already had a fist wrapped around him, it kept him from thrusting too far into her mouth, or she was sure she would have choked or gagged.

After a minute of so, Ranma realized that he was clutching her head and he let her go and pulled himself out of her mouth with a pop and a shudder. His legs were rubbery and it was all he could do to sit gently on her bed. "Oh, my gods," he said, staring at her with huge eyes.

With her mouth full of his cum, Akane didn't really know what to do, so, she swallowed it. He sighed and reached for her, and pulled her to him, kissing her so sweetly. "You can't understand what it feels like to know that a part of me is inside of you, right now," he murmured against her lips. "You're so fucking hot."

"Really?" she asked, wrinkling her nose. "'Cause it tastes kinda gross. And it's slimy. Like mucous."

"Ew!" he laughed. "Then why'd you swallow?"

"I don't know, I didn't know what else to do." She was blushing.

He started to palm her breast again. "Well… it definitely gave me some awesome mental pictures. I love you."

"I love you too," she sighed, closing her eyes to enjoy his fondling.

"I wanna do it to you," he said.

Her eyes opened. "What?"

"Can I? I wanna taste you. Please?"

Her stomach fluttered with new butterflies. "You wanna…" her breath hitched. "Oh. Um… yeah, okay." She swallowed and tried to calm her pounding heart.

In a heartbeat Ranma was off of the bed and tugging her toward the end until her ass almost hung off the edge. Then slowly, he lifted her skirt over her hips. "These panties are incredible," he said, pausing to appreciate the dainty blue scrap of cotton.

"Um, thanks," she said, and laughed a little nervously.

Ranma hooked trembling fingers into her panties and drew them down off of her legs, his eyes glued to her womanhood. "Yessssss," he hissed.

"You like it?" she asked, unsure.

Ranma pressed his cheek to her thigh and inhaled deeply. "I love it. I love you. So much!" And he spread her open with his fingers and touched her _there_ and she lost it. It was all she could do not to scream at the sensations he was wrenching from her. She flailed her arms somewhat wildly until they found purchase in his hair and then she pressed his face to her center and he licked her. The both groaned, and he licked and sucked and kissed and Akane came so hard she saw stars.

When she was finally able to drag her eyelids open, Ranma was still held captive against her center, but his blue eyes were trained on her face, and even though that's all she could see of him, she knew he bore a smug little smile.

"You… are a god," she panted. She pried her hands away from his head, and he crawled up her body to settle between her thighs. "I know," he said simply. He kissed her, and she tasted herself on his lips, and it was weird but also empowering, knowing what he'd just done to her. For her. With her.

"I never wanna move again," he sighed, his breath stirring the hair at her temple.

"But, Ranma…?"

"Hmph?"

"I should, um, go wash up."

There was a pause. "Ugh. Yeah. Bath. We can share?" He lifted his head to wiggle his eyebrows at her, and she giggled and nodded.

On their way to the furo, giggling through the hall, they passed Kasumi. The startled eldest Tendo daughter pulled some earplugs from her ears. "Oh, are you done?" she asked sweetly.

Both Ranma and Akane turned beet red. "Oh, hahah, uh…. You could hear that?"

"I think most of the neighborhood heard some of it," Kasumi said, and smiled. "Ranma, your mother stopped by, but left when we… ah, heard you were… well, indisposed. She wanted me to give you a bento for tomorrow. It's in the fridge. Also, she says, 'Well done, son.'"

Ranma went red from the roots of his hair to halfway down his chest, and Akane did the same. Mortified, they began to edge toward the furo. "Oh, uh, okay, thanks, Kasumi," Akane stuttered.

Needless to say it was a quick bath, and they were soon in bed - fully clothed. Exhausted, sated, and embarrassed, they chatted for a little bit but soon dropped off to sleep.

Three months later, they graduated high school, and the next day, hand-in-hand, they signed their marriage certificate. "Well, that's done," he said, taking the pen from her and giving it back to the registrar. "Hello, wife."

She laughed a little. "Hello, husband. Oooh!" she cried, because he'd suddenly swept her into his arms.

"Come on," he said. "I have a surprise for you."

"What surprise?" she asked him.

But he shook his head. "Uh-uh. I'm not telling. Just hang on, okay?"

Obligingly, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yes!" she said, and off they went, taking to the rooftops to bound through Nerima.

And then, they were at Tofu's clinic. "Ah, what's this?" she asked.

"Shh," he said. "Just wait. It's gonna be awesome." He was truly excited, she could tell. He took a key out of his pocket - all without dropping her - and opened the back door.

"What are you doing?" she asked, startled. "We can't go in here, it's closed, today!"

"It's okay," he said. "We're allowed."

"How?" she asked as he gently kicked the door closed and started carrying her up a narrow set of steps. "Where are we going? I've never seen this, before."

Then they were at a door and Ranma toed it open. "Ta-da!" he said, and stepped over the threshold. Only then did he carefully set Akane down. His eyes stayed on her face, watching her expression as she looked around.

It was a tiny studio apartment. On one side was a small kitchenette with a table big enough for two, the far wall had a door leading to what she assumed was a bathroom, and across from the kitchen was a nice, big bed, made up with about a dozen pillows of different sizes. There was a hand-painted banner hung across the wall that read, "Congratulations, newlyweds!" The table was set with some fancy-looking food and a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice. Hung on the walls were pictures - of Ranma and Akane together, from the time they'd met until very recently.

"What am I even looking at, right now?" Akane said wonderingly.

"It's ours," he said, still staring at her. "Our place, yours and mine."

She turned to him. "What? What do you mean?"

"Tofu just bought himself a house. He used to live here but he's been saving up. And, well, he just moved in and he said we could have this room. It's great, isn't it?"

"Did you decorate it?" she asked, all agog with wonder.

"Uh, well, Kasumi helped," he admitted. "I got the pictures from Nabiki - it's her wedding present to us. Oh, and she said something about she's investing for us, for a nominal fee?" He shrugged.

"That's… generous of her," Akane said. She did a little spin, taking it all in. "This is… _our_ place? For real?"

"Yeah," he said. He scratched his head nervously. "You don't like it?"

"Ranma Saotome, I _love_ it!" She leapt into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist. "I love _you_!"

"I love you too," he breathed, and they kissed and kissed and then he took her to bed and the most decidedly did _not_ sleep.


	2. New Story

Hello!

I know that it's been a long time since I've posted anything on here. I'm sorry to everyone who's been waiting so long. I have been so blessed in my life to have so many fans who enjoy my writing and encourage me. Thank you to everyone who's followed and reviewed, it means more than I can say.

If you're interested in what I've got going on now, I am working on an original story. The prologue and first five chapters can be found here, under my pseudonym, Anne Carr:  
w w w the Galactic Society dot org

Please take some time to check it out and tell me what you think! I am nearly finished writing the first book and hope to have it available on Amazon within the year.

With warmth and gratitude,

Fluffy


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